


It's called puberty, Son.

by cruciomysoul



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Amazing Spider-Man (Movies - Webb), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family Dynamic, Father-Son Relationship, M/M, Spiderman: Home-coming, superhero coming out, superhero dads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 23:22:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11588286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cruciomysoul/pseuds/cruciomysoul
Summary: Peter comes out to his dads.(About his powers)





	It's called puberty, Son.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm using Coulson as his role in the animated as the school principal, however he isn't a SHIELD agent but rather a former soldier so has no affiliation with Steve or Tony beyond Peter going to his school. (Also Zendaya's version of MJ was bomb so she has a complimentary appearance)

Harder.

Faster.

Longer.

Harder. Faster. Longer.

_Harder. Faster. Longer._

_harder faster longer_

_harder faster longer harder faster long-_

“Peter!”

Peter was startled enough by the sound of Pop’s voice that he stumbled, tripped, fell to the padded ground. He grunted, ashamed- for being caught, for being startled, for _underachieving_. He took an earphone out of his ear.

“No, you didn’t wake me. Worried me, yes, I thought Dummy had gotten out again.” What are you doing?”

“Oh, nothing,” Peter began to roll his arms, loosen up his joints as he walked over to the bench. “Just working out.” He stated, casual, wiping sweat off his face, grimacing at how moist the towel became. Steve’s frown deepened.

“You should be sleeping, son.” At least there was no capital S. Then Peter really would have been in trouble. “You have school remember.”

“Yeah, yeah I know, I was just, getting in some extra practice you know? Gym tomorrow, gotta keep up with the Captain America programme!” Peter was practically shaking as he fled from the gym with a hasty _“Night, Pop!”_ , leaving a frowning Steve to examine the amount of sweat that had been left behind. It looked like Peter had really gone to town in their home gym; the weights were altered, ropes were swinging faintly, chalk remained on the bars of the vaults and trapezes, scattered boxing gloves and a skipping rope thrown down.

* * *

“I’m worried about Peter.”

“Hmmm?” Tony looked up from his tablet, peering at Steve over the rims of his glasses. The light coming from his screen was the only source in their bedroom, and it was just enough to show Tony’s face and the beginnings of his pyjama shirt.

“I just caught him working out, drenched in sweat.” Tony raised an eyebrow, egging Steve on. Steve sighed; “It’s 3AM Tony, he has school tomorrow. Today.” Steve hesitated. “Do you think it’s do with us?” Frowning, Tony locked and lowered his tablet.

“Us? Why would it to be to do with us?” His eyes followed Steve as he made his way around to his side of the bed, sliding under the covers.

“Think about it, Tony- two superhero (Tony scoffs at the word) dads. I know we’ve tried our best to normalise his life, but there’s no way it hasn’t been somewhat rough on him.”

“Rough? Come on Steve, that kid could go through hell and back and be all right. I don’t think he’s feeling any less about himself just because I’m rich with a supersuit and you’re- well, you’re _you._ ” Steve frowned,

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked Tony. Tony waved a hand flippantly,

“Oh, you know, America’s greatest man and all that, blah blah blah.”

“But I’m not. Not to Pete. I’m supposed to be his dad. His _regular_ dad.” Steven couldn’t see perfectly in the dark, but he could almost sense Tony rolling his eyes.

“You could never be a _regular_ dad, Steve. Just like I couldn’t. But that’s okay. We’ve both done the best we can. I’m sure its just a phase, but I’ll have Jarvis keep an eye on him too. If he’s still at it, we’ll have a proper talk. Maybe he’s just trying to impress a girl. Or a guy. I’m still curious about that Ned. He comes over a _lot-_ ”

_“Tony.”_

“-I’m just saying. Anyway you wouldn’t believe the stuff I did at his age for attention. Relax. Pete’ll be fine. He’s our son.”

 _That’s what I’m worried about,_ Steve thought, but didn’t dare say out loud.

“All right?”

“All right.”

“Right, good.” Tony nodded. “Lets get some sleep. I’m not as metahuman as I pretend to be. J, if Pete gets up and starts exercising again tonight, or any night, you let us know okay?”

“Yes, sir.” Jarvis spoke, his robotic voice quiet in the dark of their room.

 

* * *

 

“Petey, come on, do I need to install an internal curfew?” One earphone already hanging out, Peter stopped his situps to look over at his Dad. “It’s almost one, you should be sleeping, or at least doing homework or something. Not working out.”

“Sorry, dad,” he clambered to his feet, wiped the sweat off his forehead. “I’ll go now.” Tony watched as Peter walked past, giving him a weak smile as he did.

“This is the twelfth time since Mr Rogers caught Peter the first time.” Jarvis announced.

“Don’t call him ‘Mr Rogers’, that’s... weird. I swear the name resemblance was the only reason Pete loved that show as a kid. Anyway, did Pete have gym class today?”

“Yes, sir. He also enrolled with the track team and stayed late at school today for their meet.”

“He did?” Tony frowned.

“Yes, sir. That brings a total of seven extracurriculars.”

“I see. And how many of those a physical based?”

“Four.” Tony pursed his lips.

“Thanks, Jarvis.”

 

* * *

 

“You were right.” Tony announced, flopping down on the sofa next to Steve. “What are you drawing?” He tried to peer over at the pad, but Steve flipped it shut.

“About what? Jonas? I know, Clint called.”

“What? No, about Pete- what do you mean ‘Clint called’ _when_ did Clint call?”

“Yesterday. I’ll take that dinner any time, by the way. Now-”

“Jarvis, book us a table, would you? But Pete. He’s exercising way too much. There’s somthing going on.”

“Should we talk to him?”

“God, no. He’s already complained we coddle him too much. No, we’re not going to talk to him-” Steve sat up slightly. He knew his husband. And he knew he didn’t like where this was headed.

“Tony-”

“Because he’d just tell us to go away or lie to us about being fine, so, no _we’re_ not going-

“Tony!”

“-to talk to him, and neither is Jarvis because Jarvis has a soft spot for the kid - don’t deny it, I know it, we all know it - so instead, I thought, hey, who do _we_ know that’s super close to Pete and isn’t likely to shut him out-

“Tony I _swear-”_

“You’ve never sworn in your life, Rogers, don’t give me that,” whilst he was speaking, Tony had jumped up from the sofa and made his way towards their front door. The bell chimed. “Let him in, Jarvis.” Behind Tony, the doors clicked open. “Ned!” He greeted brightly, turning towards him. “Good to see you, buddy, come on in. You hungry? Steve makes the _best_ panini, honestly, it’s a treat.”

 

* * *

 

“Heeeeey Peter,” Ned chimed, seating himself opposite Peter at their lunch table in the cafeteria. “How’s it hanging?” Peter chewed his burrito slowly, before swallowing and giving Ned a questionable look.

“It’s... hanging fine?”

“Cool, cool, that’s good, yeah. Hey, listen-”

“Ned are you okay? You’re kind of- sweating.”

“Don’t think too much about that, Peter,” Michelle said, sliding into her position at the end of the table. “Ned’s always like that around you. It’s like he has a crush, or something. Nice shirt.” Peter looked down at his shirt - a gag gift from his dads’, featuring a chibi art style line up of all the Avengers - and blushed slightly.

“I don’t have a crush on Peter.” Ned interjected, but it was mostly ignored.

“Stop eavesdropping, Michelle.”

“MJ. I’m giving MJ a try,”

“Okay, well, stop eavesdropping, MJ.”

“It’s not eavesdropping when you both speak so loudly. Anyway, since when were you on the track team? I saw you running with them last night.”

“Speaking of track, Peter, don’t you think you’re overdoing the whole exercise thing? I’m getting worried, man.”

“I’m fine.” Peter muttered, returning to his burrito. “You should really eat your lunch, it’s almost time for chemistry.”

 

* * *

 

“Now Mr Stark, Captain Rogers, let me be clear: Peter is not in trouble.” Steve and Tony glanced at one another; if Peter wasn’t in trouble, then why were they being called down to the principal’s office? Tony let Steve take the lead on this one. He was somewhat more diplomatic than Tony. Somewhat. Besides, Peter’s principal was a decorated war veteran. He’d have more common ground with Steve Rogers the solider than he would with Tony Stark the former weapons manufacturer and arms dealer.

“With all due respect, sir, if Pete’s not in trouble, why are we here?” Mr Coulson weathered a smile.

“There’s no need to call me Sir, Captain.”

“You outrank me, sir, even a veteran like yourself deserves the proper respect.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Coulson gave Steve a curt nod before taking a deep breath. “I’ve called you in because I have, ah, _concerns_ about Peter’s welfare.” If Tony’s attention had been lacking before, it was definitely in full swing now. Steve could sense the change in Tony’s demeanour.

“Pete’s welfare?” Tony said, crisp, sharp, jaw locked.

“I’m sure it’s nothing serious, we were all teenagers once and with all of today's technological advancements it’s honestly a surprise kids come to school at all, but the concern we have here is that Peter does not seem to be getting enough sleep.” Tony relaxed somewhat, which in turn made Steve’s own posture sag a little.

“We’ve noticed that, too.” Steve admitted. “He’s up at all hours of the night exercising or doing his school work - some of which, frankly, I’m confident he makes up-”

“You can’t _make up_ chemistry and physics, Steve, just because you’re not scientifically orientated-”

“-Tony, not this again, that’s not important right now.” Coulson cleared his throat.

“We’ve had several reports of Peter falling asleep in class, during break periods, consistently for the last few weeks. Is there anything you could think of in Peter’s life - internal or external to his home environment - that may be contributing towards this?”

 

* * *

 

Peter sat on the grey couch in their living area, staring up at his dads. He was exhausted - track and gymnastics had both called emergency practice sessions for the approaching team try outs after school and by the time he had walked through hsi front door, he was dead on his feet. He was in trouble. He could sense it.

“So we went to speak with principal Coulson today,” Tony started, taking a seat next to Peter. “And he’s concerned about your welfare.”

“Which, of course,” Steve added, “makes us even _more_ concerned than we already are. Is there anything on your mind, son? We’re here for you, no matter what.”

“Right, and we also love you, no matter what, okay? So come on kid, spill the beans, what’s troubling you?” Peter looked from dad to pop. Where to even begin?

“We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us, Pete.” It was when Steve sat on the other side of him that Peter jumped up.

“Look, there’s nothing wrong, honestly, I- I’m fine, okay, I’m just working through some stuff, but honestly it’s fine. Nothing to worry about. Alright? Sorry to have worried you. Sorry about Coulson, uh, ringing you and stuff, but I got it, I’ll sleep more, I can do that, yeah.” By the end of it, Peter wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince more - his dads or himself.

“Peter, stop. Stop pacing. If you won’t talk to us, then we’ll make you talk to someone else. We don’t want to do that Peter, but this isn’t healthy.”

“What, so- so, you want to just send me to a therapist?” Peter spluttered, half surprised they would go that far.

“That was your pop’s words, not mine. My approach was to let you carry on and burn yourself out and then realise how much you’re pushing yourself, but that idea was shot down severak times, so, really, who’s fault is this. No, seriously, who’s at fault here? What’s causing this, Peter? Is it us? Are you- what, intimidated by us? Or is it someone else? Someone at school? Or are you worried about getting kidnapped again, because honestly, that hasn’t happened since you were eight and it’s very unlikely to happen again, I mean, I was pretty clear about what I would do if-”

“What, no, dad, stop, stop. It’s nothing like that.”

“Then what is it? Please, talk to us.” Peter started pacing again, arms shaking by his sides.

“It’s just, the last few months- they’ve been weird, okay? Things are different. I-I can’t explain, it’s like I’m different, you know? Like, this, this isn’t me, or it isn’t the old me, you know? I just feel so, so- _amped_ up all the time, like I’ve got to keep going, and- and, what? What? Why are you looking at each other like that? What’s happening?”

Steve cleared his throat. “Son, I think- we think, that, well, you’re a growing boy- you’re almost sixteen now, and when you get around that age, yes, your body does change-”

“It’s called puberty.” Tony cut across, feeling Steve was drawing it out too long.

“Oh, gross!” Peter grimaced. “It’s not puberty, I’m pretty sure it’s not puberty. Did your puberty involve being able to stick to surfaces, walk on walls? ‘Cos I can do that!” To demonstrate, Peter jumped up and, well, landed. On the wall. And climbed, so that he was hanging just above his dads. “You see?” He let himself drop.

“Peter...” Steve began, but Tony once again cut him up.

“When did this start?” His words were crisp, and he’d grabbed up his nearby tablet.

“A-a few months ago, three or four I think? But that’s not everything, like, my focus is everywhere at once - it’s exhausting - I’ve been jittery, I’m pretty sure I’ve grown like, a million extra hairs all over my body, just like a, a-”

“Spider.” Tony concluded. “Just like a spider. You went on that field trip, right? To the Osbourn facilities?”

“Oscorpe.” Steve supplied.

“Yes,” Peter nodded. Tony turned the tablet towards him. It was open on their research website, documenting their endeavours, past and future-

“You were also kind of feverish after that trip, weren’t you?” Peter nodded. He was bedridden for about three days. “No one else on the trip got ill.”

“No,” Peter agreed. “So, what? What are you saying? That Oscorp did this to me?” Tony frowned.

“I don’t think so, at least, not intentionally. They held a case of radiocative spiders at the facility. It’s possible you were accidentally exposed to them, or-”

“Or bitten.” Peter finished. He turned around, lowered the neck of his shirt a little. Right there was two faint incision marks, a scar left behind. “I didn’t think anything of it, I get bit by mosquitoes all the time.” He turned back to face his dads. He looked scared. “What happens now?”

“Well,” Tony said, tossing the tablet down on the sofa, “let’s see just what this spider bite gave you, shall we?” He grinned at his son.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm... Back?  
> I don't know where I was going with this I just decided to run with it ok i just wanted to _write_ (I've never once done an extra curricular bcos its not a thing here in brum UK so that info is most likely unprobable even for our spideyman here?????? idk) it also ended up being more tony n steve central than intended but ah well !!


End file.
